Dual-purpose shaker



April 4, 1950 w. I... GARBERDING 2,502,449

mm. PURPOSE sum Filed April 27, 1945 ii g 81 e o I |o 5 i P 15" 1 y} 17 II I 10 l 2/ 25 x 1 i i Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DUAL-PURPOSE SHAKER Waldo L. Garberding, Chicago, Ill. Application April 27, 1945, Serial rim 590,641

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel dual purpose shaker. a

Certain obvious advantages reside in having together in one convenient dispensing container or shaker a plurality of such common seasoning or flavoring materials as salt and pepper, sugar and cinnamon, and the like, which may be used together or alone and by most users in varying proportions to suit individual tastes. However, while some attempts have been made to provide such a shaker, no really satisfactory expedient has heretofore been suggested for keeping the difierent materials separate against discharging from the shaker together when 'it is desired to shake out only a selected one of the materials.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a dual purpose shaker in which a plurality of materials are contained in separated,

condition within a single container and from which any selected one of the materials can be dispensed by tipping and shaking, jarring or vibrating the container while the companion material isfefiectively held against dischargin and this is accomplished without any special valves or the need for manipulative effort or attention on the part of the user. v

Another object is to provide such a dual purpose shaker in which any selected one of the materials in the shaker can be independently dispensed by a moderate tilting and shaking of the container, but from which the materials can nevertheless be shaken out together in preferred proportion or blend by more acute tilting of the shaker when dispensing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved shaker into which a plurality of diflerent materials can be expeditiously filled separately. v

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel dual purpose shaker equipped for visual and touch identification of the outlets for the various materials.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dual purpose shaker which when picked up will so lit in the hand of the user as to remain, until wilfully changed, in proper position for dispensing a selected material therefrom.

Another object is to provide a dual purpose shaker of the general character indicated which is of simple and inexpensive construction, is easy and convenient to service and use, and is compellingly advantageous. over the conventional plurality of separate shakers.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following 2 description and from the accomp y one sheet of drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dual purpose shaker embodying the features of the invention; l lira likg. 2 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the s er;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the shaker, taken in substantially the plane of line 3-8 of Fig. 1, and considering the shaker as being tilted over fordispensing;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental vertical sectional view through the shaker taken substantially in the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a. perspective view of the separator or partition which divides the shaker into different chambers.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a dual purpose shaker I I may be equipped with a unitary container ll of generally elongated capsular formv having a cylindrical body, a preferably blunt, rounded dome top and a base I! for holding it upright when standing upon a' table or the like. As shown, the container I I is of such characteristics that it may be formed from metal or a plastic material and may be stamped, pressed, spun, die-formed, or cast, according to any preferred process of manufacture. The base I! is preferably downwardly flanged and of elongated oval shape extending right angularly relative to the body of the container so that when the shaker III is picked up, it will always tend to lie naturally with either one side or the opposite side in the palm of the grasping hand. In this way any selected group of discharge or dispensing perforations II or ll, respectively, located adjacent the top of the opposite sides of the container Ii, will be properly located on the side opposite from the palm of the supporting hand.

Assuming the shaker II to be intended for salt and pepper, the discharge perforations I! may be designed for pepper and in the present instance are preferably formed in the shape of a letter P to afford visual as well as touch indication .of the contents at that side of the shaker. For the same reason, the discharge perforations H, which may be of a size best adapted for dispensing salt. and therefore slightly larger than the pepper perforations ii, are formed in the outline of a letter S.

In accordance with the foregoing purposes, the discharge perforations l3 and M are preferably formed at diametrically opposite sides of the cylindrical body of the container II and to only a very limited extent in the contiguous merging portions of the top closure dome, and means is provided interiorly of the-container dividing it,

According to the present invention, such dividing means comprises a partition l1 which serves not only as a divider but also as means for restraining discharge of material from the compartment opposite to that selected for discharge of material at any given instant. The construction is such, however, as to permit simultaneous discharge of material from both compartments if that is desired. To this end, the partition I1 is preferably formed as a fiat plate-shaped at its edges complementary to the interior contour of the container II. In assembly, the partition is disposed diagonally relative to the axis of the base I2 and cooperating intimately with the container walls with its side edges closely adjacent to the respective discharge apertures l3 and It as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. As a result of this relationship, when the shaker is tilted over on either side for dispensing purposes, all of the material in both compartments is' permitted to fall over to and seek a level on the side toward which the container is tilted. The material that is in the compartment from which it is desired to dispense flows downwardly toward the apertures leading from that compartment while the material in the opposite compartment falls to the greatest possible extent away from the dispensing apertures leading from the latter compartment. By way of example, reference may be had to Fig. 3, in which is graphically indicated the salt level S and the pepperlevel P in the act of dispensing pepper and showing how far the salt concurrently gravitates away from the perforations 43. This condition willprevail as long as the container remains tipped over on its side, and even relatively vigorous shaking will not cause any material tov be discharged from the dispensing apertures on the uppermost side of the container. should it be desired to dispense the materials from both compartments simultaneously, the shaker may be substantially up-ended, that is, with the crown dipping downward, so that the materia1 in both compartments accumulates to a greater or lesser extent in the crown and backs up to and beyond the respective dispensing perforations.

The partition l1 may, of course,.be formed integrally with the container I I. On the other hand, the partition may be formed as a separate die stamped element, as shown (Fig. 5), which can be assembled with the container by a relative longitudinal assembly operation and which is held in substantially centered relation therein by means such as a transverse centering pin l8 carried adjacent to the upper end thereof. A gasket I 1' may be provided to form a tight seal between the edge However,

extending and inwardly opening locating channel 23 in the base end portion of the container.

For convenience in filling the shaker, the bottom plate I! is formed with filling openings 24 and 25 opening into the compartments l5 and I6, respectively. To clos the filling openings, a valve disk 21 is secured to the bottom plate I I,

preferably swivelly as by means of a rivet 22. By

of the partition 11 and the inner wall of the container.

Means for maintaining the partition l1 in assembled relation with the container 1 I comprises a bottom closure plate I! of a diameter to be received snugly within the base end portion of the container. By preference, the closure plate I! is secured integrally to the base end of the partition l1. Means such as a split resilient retaining ring 20 snapped into an annular radially bulging groove 2| provided therefor in the base end portion of the container wall holds the bottom closure plate against outward longitudinal separation from the container. For assuring accurate location of the partition l1 relative to the dispensing openings I3 and II during assembly, a radial locating lug 22 is provided on the bottom plate l9 to fit within a longitudinally 7 means-of this valve disk 21, both of the filling openings 24 and 25 may be closed, but when it is desired to fill either of the compartments, 9. filling port 28- in the valve disk 21 is moved into registry with the selected one of the filling openings 24 and 25. By having the base l2 and the Y base end of the container I I cup-shaped as shown, a convenient filling receptacle the shaker is up-ended.

In order to hold the valve plate 21 in closing position or in either of the filling positions, indexing means may be provided such as a detent node 30 projecting from the bottom plate I! into the plane of the valve plate 21 to register with any selected one of a plurality of complementary locating and interlocking depressions ll, 32, or 33 in the latter. The depression 3| registers-with the node when the valve disk 21 is in closed position. The depression 32 registers with the node 30 when the filling port 29 is in registration with the filling opening 2|.

The depression 33 registers with the locating node 30 when the filling port 29 registers with the filling opening 25. As the node enters into registration with any one of the selected depressions, an appreciable reaction is felt and there may also be a clicking noise indicating that the desired position has been attained.

For convenience in manipulating the valve disk 21, suitable handle means such as an integral handle lug 34, or preferably-a pair of handle lugs 34, may be formed integral with the valve disk and extend right angularly therefrom at diametrically opposite sides for digital manipulative engagement. Thus, merely by exerting rotative pressure by means of the thumb and a finger of one hand upon the handle lugs 34, the.

valve disk 21 can be turned to any position indexed by the indexing node 30.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a dual purpose shaker which aflords a great convenience in that it successfully embodies in one unitary container what has heretofore usually necessitated a plurality of separate containers.

Material contained in any selected one of the compartments within the shaker may be readily and freely dispensed without attention to the dispensing apertures of the non-selected compartment or to any valves or retaining devices and without danger of any internal or'extemal valve sticking. If desired, a blend of materials from both compartments may be dispensed with facility by proper manipulation of the shaker. Another distinct advantage of my shaker is that although it is of the utmost convenience to persons of properly functioning eye-sight, it is also quite convenient for persons of failing eye-sight, or who are totally blind, in the first place because the plurality of materials such as salt and pepper which a person may wish to use are contained in one shaker which avoids the necessity for finding a companion shaker. Secondly, the dispensing apertures can be very readily identified by sense of touch, as can also the filling openings, assisted by the indexing arrangement for the filling valve. Moreover, the simple. comis provided when pact structure lends itself exceptionally well to disassembly for cleaning where, for example, the material becomes lumpy or caked therein. Reassembly is simple and expeditious and can be effected entirely by sense of touch.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications, and alternative constructions, I have shown in the drawings, and have herein described in detail a certain preferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination in a dual purpose shaker, a substantially capsular open bottom container having a right angularly elongated base so disposed that when the shaker is grasped for shaking, the base will locatethe shaker in the palm of the hand with either respective opposite side of the shaker in dispensing position, said container having dispensing apertures adjacent the I top of respectively opposite sides and disposed on an axis at substantially right angles to the axis of said base, and means cooperating with the interior of the container including a partition extending diagonally relative to the axis of said base and dividing the interior of thecontainer into a plurality of compartments.

2. In combination in a dual purpose shaker of the character described, an elongated upright container having a closed top, a partition removably received within said container and dividing the same into a plurality of compartments, 'means for removably retaining the partition within the container, said container having dispensing-apertures for the respective compartments, and a transverse pin member carried by the top portion of the partition and cooperating with the wall of the container for holding the partition centered within the container.

3. In combination in a dual purpose shaker, a

substantially capsular open bottom container into a pair of compartments corresponding to the opposite dispensing apertures and the partition extending in a plane intersecting the axis of the dispensing apertures.

4. In combination in a dual purpose shaker of the character described, a substantially cylindrical closed top container having a flanged generally oval base so disposed that when the shaker is grasped for shaking, the base will locate the shaker in the palm of the hand with the respective opposite sides adjacent to the narrowest axis of the base located in dispensing position, said opposite sides having respective sets of dispensing apertures adjacent to the top of the container and. disposed on a general axis at substantially right angles to the major axis of the base, and means cooperating with the bottom of the container and the interior of the container dividing the same into a pair of condiment compartments with which the respective sets of dispensing apertures communicate.

WALDO L. GARBERDING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Number Name Date 148,472 Lockwood Mar. 10, 1874 270,189 Golding Jan. -2, 1883 311,415 Cleveland Jan. 27, 1885 763,916 Livingston June 28, 1904 942,138 Gebhardt Dec. 7, 1909 982,371 Lacy Jan. 24, 1911 1,102,978 Conger July 7, 1914 1,246,489 Sykes Nov. 13, 1917 1,250,848 Gilmore Dec. 18, 1917 1,264,029 -Du Guay Apr. 23, 1918 1,292,506 Nielsen Jan. 28, 1919 1,342,524v Ament June 8, 1920 1,391,096 Copen Sept. 20, 1921 1,446,878 Clary Feb. 27, 1923 1,757,525 Hart May 6, 1930 1,792,916 MacLellan Feb. 17, 1931 1,948,227 Rechten Feb. 20, 1934 1,954,719 Vendel Apr. 10, 1934 1,979,198 'Hart -1 Oct. 30, 1934 2,184,302 Hull et al Dec. 26, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,994 Great Britain July 4, 1894 324,486 Great Britain Jan. 30, 1930 678,124 France Dec. 29, 1929 768,791 France May 28,1934 

